Tell Me I Was Dreaming
by Vamptress RayZor
Summary: This is not based off of the song by Travis Tritt, but is a Yuffentine! So, Yuffentine dis-likers and haters, beware! Another post-Meteor. Sniffle. It's over. Last chapter and alt. ending are up. WAAAHHH!
1. Hi!

**_ Tell Me I Was Dreaming_**  
  
_ By: Yuffie Kisaragi2  
_  
_I only own my own characters, I think you can tell which ones they are_.  
  
_Nope, this is not based off of the song... This is an eight chapter short story that I will try to update every week or so. Don't hold me to that, though! Read onward!_  
  
**_Chapter One: Hi!_**  
  
_-- A cry echoed throughout the otherwise quiet camp. Vincent and Red XIII exchanged glances, then nodded. "I shall go see," Vincent told the crimson beast. As he neared the tent that Aeris, Tifa, and Yuffie shared, a sob came from inside. His gun still in hand, he lifted the flap and peered inside.  
  
One of the girls, presumably Yuffie by the child-like sobs and smaller figure, was sitting up, her knees to her chest and arms wrapped about them, her face down. Unconsciously, Vincent made a shushing noise, causing her to look up.  
  
"Get out!" she screamed furiously at him. He did as he was told and returned back to the fire, where he noticed Red chuckling.  
  
"That was not humorous in the least," he lectured the beast.  
  
Red nodded, still chuckling. "I am sorry, Vincent. I just wanted to see how you reacted when she screamed at you. She won't remember anything in the morning, so you need not fret about that. Since she joined us, she's been crying like this." --_

_   
  
-- "Hey! Wa-ait! Vin-nie!" He ignored the sounds of the girl running and tripping behind him. Growing frsustrated, she sprinted and caught up with him. "Where ya goin', Vampy-kun?"  
  
"It is of my own business, and not a concern of yours," he said harshly.  
  
With a glare, she watched him push past her. "Fine! Be that way, ya big JERK!" She took off running.  
  
With an inward sigh, Vincent reached into the inside pocket of his cape to get the package of herbal tea he had bought in Wutia. It was gone. With a growl, he quickly chased after the ninja thief. "Yuffie!" But she was, indeed, a very well trained ninja. She covered her tracks well.  
  
After ending up in a small clearing by a stream, he sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat.  
  
"You followed me really close until just now, didja know that?" He whirled around to face the 16-year-old. "Here." She handed him his gil and package of herbal tea leaves. "That's the nasty stuff. You really should have spent three more gil to get Gorki's. It's the best ever." With that, she skipped back toward the camp. --_   
  
Crimson eyes opened slowly. "Was I really that mean?" he asked himself, knowing full well the answer. Yes. Yes, he was that mean, even up until four years ago, when he joined the three other mercenaries for hire.  
  
A loud knock came from his door. "Yo! Vince! Ya awake yet?"  
  
"Yeah!" he called back, putting a black, tight fitting muscle shirt on, then black jeans.  
  
"Hurry up, then. We got a job, brief ya down stairs."  
  
Vincent knew that Reno had already gone on to get Rude and Elena up, so he put his standard-issue SILDIER combat boots on and laced them up. Grabbing his bag, which contained his cape, extra items, extra materia, and such, then the Death Penalty, he proceeded out of the inn room and downstairs.  
  
Reno was leaning against the desk with his trademark smirk on as Vincent walked down the steps. "Think I interrupted somethin; between Rude and Laney," he said said with a laugh. "I knocked and there was a gasp, thud, and a hurried yell of 'Coming!' Pretty damn funny."  
  
The dark-haired man pulled his hair back out of his face and tied it off with a strip of black material at the nape of his neck. "So, where he headed?"  
  
Before Reno could answer, Rude and Elena walked down the steps looking a bit flushed. Unlike Reno, they had ditched their old Turk uniforms. Rude wore jeans and a baggy tee shirt whereas Elena wore hip-huggers like many of the teen girls wore and a halter top. At twenty-eight, Vincent thought that she should be a bit more conservative, but never voiced his opinion; the only thing that hadn't changed about him.  
  
"Well, we're going to Wutia," Reno said informatively. "We're to do off the head honcho there. I think his name's Gorki. At least, that's who was the leader after Godo died, since his brat disappeared for a bit." He cast a glance at Vincent, who seemed not to care. "A'right, let's get crackin'. Vince, I drive!"  
  
Vicnent laughter his deep, resonating laughter. "Funny, Reno. My gil that bought the car. My car. I drive."_-- "Lemme steer the chocobo!"  
  
"No."  
  
The ninja cast a dark look over her shoulder at the vampiric man she rode with. "Why couldn't I get my own chocobo, anyway!? I'm sooo totally mature enough! I mean, they gave RED a flippin' chocobo! And I don't know how they expect him to ride it!" Vincent rolled his garnet eyes and continued to steer the chocobo as if the ninja thief had not said anything. "Oh! You're so mean, Vampy!" --_Vincent yawned as they rode down the street, his red convertible flying somewhere near the speed of sound. 'Gotta get more sleep from now on. These memories are seriously fucking with my head.'  
  
**_-----!-----  
-----!-----_**  
  
"If only I could leave," the Masked Woman sang in a beautful voice somewhere between alto and soprano. "Maybe I would stop crying..."  
  
The bar broke out into applause, wolf whistles and cat calls amongst the laughter and hollers for more. She smiled, but coughed into a handkerchief and wiped her lips. An older man in bum's clothing caught her attention. "Info," he said gruffly, then walked to a table in the corner.  
  
Sweeping up her long black skirts, the woman got off the stage and walked to the bar tender. "A water and my purse," she said softly to him. The balding bar tender nodded and handed her a wine glass full of water and her small black purse. Her heels clicked softly as she walked toward the bum she had seen earlier. Sitting across from him, he struggled to see her eyes behind the black and white lace mask. "You said info," she said in a low voice.  
  
He grinned. "Yup. Normal price.. Unless you'd rather pay me another way," he added, eying the slit in her skirt.  
  
"Two hundred gil, unless you would like to know what it's like to be blind," she said seriously and he noticed the dagger in her hand under the table.  
  
"Yeah," he said absently. "Two hundred..." He watched as she set the two bills on the table and gulped down some pills. "What's that?" he asked, indicating to the small container she was about to drink.  
  
Her eyes flickered back up to his face. "Never you mind," she said forcefully, though hoarsely. She gulped the blue liquid down, then took a sip of her water. "You said info. Either tell me or quit wasting my time."  
  
The man nodded, suddenly very serious. "Tomorrow night, palace. Four Turks." With that, he took the gil and left the woman to contemplate his information.  
  
She sat in the corner, her chin resting on top of her perfectly manicured hands, looking like an angel. A tall man with long, dark hair tied back walked over to her. He wore the traditional garb of the heir to Wutia. "Are you ready?" She looked up, startled from her thoughts.  
  
"Yeah. Uhm, I'm taking over security. No one's getting into that room, okay?" Her tall, well-built comrade nodded. "Let us be gone, then." She coughed again into her andkerchief, then wiped the blood from her lips. She ignored the pained and concerned looked that the young man gave her and walked toward the back of the bar.  
  
**_-----!-----  
-----!-----_**  
  
_-- "Why the hell do you love her? She's living like a.. a.. a wraith! Under that damn waterfall, Vincent! It's not worth mourning over!"  
  
The vampiric man heard her words, but didn't seem to. He sat on the roof of the inn and stared at the beautiful night sky, wishing that she was here with him instead of this... this... Brat! "You don't understand," he shot nastily. "You've never lost a love."  
  
Yuffie looked appalled that he would ever say such a thing. "Oh, how little you know, Mr. Freaky-Ass-Vampire! My mother died giving birth to me. My father's ill. I lost my only sibling when I was eight. My whole family is dead or dying! Don't tell me that I've never lost a love! I watched my ten-year-old brother fall from atop Da Chao while playing with his friends!" She turned away, tears threatening to fall. "And still, I know nothing of losing a love... My best friend, maybe the man that I should have married..." The tears fell freely now. "But I know nothing of losing a love."  
  
She flung herself back into the window and shut it. Vincent heard Tifa inside trying to calm the young girl down, but the teen merely cursed vilely at the older woman and stomped out of the Kalm Inn. He watched her petite figure run out of the town and felt really.. mean. For once in his life, he realized how mean what he had said was. He jumped from the roof and followed the ninja, trying to decide what he should say to make it up to her.  
  
He got nearly to Midgar when he found her sitting on a rock, sobbing harshly still. "Yuffie."  
  
"Just leave me alone, Vincent."  
  
He sighed and stood there looking rather dumb. He knelt down, then sat next to her. "I do not know why I still love her."  
  
She looked over, tears clinging to her eyelashes. "You shouldn't have said that earlier," she said angrily. "It hurts like you'll never know."  
  
The vampiric man stared straight ahead. "What about your... friend? What hurts so much about him?"   
  
Her grey eyes focused on a piece of dirt that suddenly seemed very interesting. "K-Kurt was from Mideel. He had moved to Wutia when we were seven. He helped me through Rashka's death and we were really close. When I ran away, I was fifteen.. And Kurt came with me. He got really hurt, though... I w-watched him die slowly..." Her head sank into her hands and she sobbed again. "It was all m-m-my f-f-fault!"  
  
Vincent's crimson eyes stared in disbelief at the young one. She was so... so... little, yet had so much anger and depression... --__   
  
_  
"What about you, Vince?" Reno asked from the passenger seat.  
  
"Wh- Huh?"  
  
Elena giggled. "What are you going to do after this hit? We're gonna make 200,000 gil each!"  
  
The dark man smiled. "Buy ShinRa Mansion and burn it." His three companions laughed at the idea.  
  
"Take a left here," Reno instructed. "We've gotta get to the do- ARGH!" Vincent fish tailed the car to make the turn causing all three to cry out and Elena to curst at him for making her slosh her beer on herself and Rude.**_ -----!-----  
-----!-----_**"Six guards," she spoke into the phone while changing into shorts and a white tank top one-handed in the back seat of a limo. Her mask had been discarded by her purse. Her face was young, only about twenty-four or twenty-five. Intense grey eyes wise beyond their years and full of well-masked pain were focused on the smoked glass that separated her from her driver.  
  
"No, there are four Turks, but I want six guards around the room. If they get past my guards, then I'll deal with them insi-" she coughed into her blood-stained once-white handkerchief and held the cell phone away from her as she retched into a small bucket at her feet. Crimson mingled with the little amount of food that she'd had in the past twenty-four hours.  
  
"I'm fine," she spoke hoarsely into the phone. Taking a swig from a bottle of water, she swished it around her mouth and spit it into the bucket she had puked into. "Just make sure they're there." She shut the cell and tossed it next to her mask and purse. Quickly putting on her traditional komono, she looked at the man who had opened her door.  
  
"I hate polotics," she said weakly.  
  
_**A/N: So, there was chapter one! I hope you liked! Please, review! I always welcome constructive criticism. Note the constructive!  
  
Surka: Yeah, that means that she doesn't want a review that says "these story suk as!"  
  
Dracon: That's not constructive, has poor grammar, and sounds like something her friends would write on a bathroom wall.  
  
Sky: Hey! We're not THAT bad!  
  
Antoinette (Toni): Or at least, I'm not that bad, Sky may be.  
  
YK2: Hey! When'd you guys get here?  
  
Toni: About thirty five seconds ago.  
  
Sephiroth: I arrived with Surka.  
  
Reno: I came for the chicks and booze!  
  
Rude: ........  
  
Elena: Same here!  
  
YK2: Err... What did he say?  
  
Elena: I don't know, but if I agree with him, then he might like me as much as Tseng did!  
  
Tseng: I never liked you!  
  
Cloud: Wow... What's this place?  
  
Tifa: I like the... uh... Black and white color scheme...  
  
Yuffie: Hey! Look! I was in this chapter!  
  
YK2: GAH!  
  
Yuffie: Ahh!  
  
YK2 & Yuffie: AHHHHH!!!  
  
Sky: --to Vincent-- There you are!  
  
Vincent: ... Do I know you?  
  
Sky: No, but there you are!  
  
YK2: Dear deities that seem to hate me! MAKE THE INSANITY STOP!!! Till Next Time, ya'll! AUDI!!! -- Disappears-- POOF!¿! **_


	2. Who are you?

_ **Tell Me I Was Dreaming**_  
  
_ By: Yuffie Kisaragi2_  
  
_ I only own my own characters, I think you can tell which ones they are_.  
  
_Nope, this is not based off of the song... This is an eight chapter short story that I will try to update every week or so. Don't hold me to that, though! Read onward!  
_  
**foureyes** : I apologize for the typo! Though I agree, it's hillarious if you pronounce it!  
  
**Ezri-Candy** : I'm updatin', I'm updatin'! Thankies for readin' another one of my fics, though!  
  
**Neko-Yuff16 **: And thankies to you for readin' another one of my fics!  
  
**Hotaru170** : And thankies to you for readin' another one of my fics! WOW! Three previous reviewers are back! I'm liked!  
  
**Kagato.Masaki** : Glad you like it! Please keep readin'!  
  
**_Chapter Two: Who the fuck are you?_**  
  
_ -- "Please," a small voice begged their blonde captain. "Don't make me get in that submarine! I'll hark all over you! I mean it! I'm really clausterphoebic!"  
  
Cloud sighed. "Yuffie, who will watch over you if you do not come with me?"  
  
She got a pouty look on her face, her lower lip over lapping her upper to make it look pouty. With a few sniffs, she looked at Cloud. "Please? I'll sit here on the shore and wait for you! I swear it! But, I'll get sick if you make me ride!"  
  
Vincent sighed. "I will watch over her. Take Tifa and Cait Sith instead." Cloud looked at the taller man, then nodded.  
  
Once they were gone, Yuffie tagged along behind the vampiric man, staying quiet. "Why did you do that?" she asked suddenly.  
  
The dark-haired man shrugged. "I thought that we would all grow tired of your complaints."  
  
"You're so mean! Jerky Vampy-kun!" --  
_  
"Yo, man! Get up!"  
  
Vincent opened his eyes and saw Rude. "What?"  
  
The bald man nodded toward the door. "We're here. We can get off this damn boat, now."  
  
Vincent slipped his shirt back on and grabbed his weapon and bag, then followed Rude off the boat onto the deck, where all four Turks stood in and stared in disbelief at Wutia. It was no longer the little village that they had remembered. Sure, they had heard that the town had become a city, but they had never imagined that it would have gone hi-tech! Sky-scrapers, apartment buildings, homeless shelters, everything that a normal city had, Wutia had.  
  
"Well, that would explain why Yuffie disappeared," Vincent muttered, remembering her dislike of tight spaces, including crowded streets.  
  
"Wutai sure has changed," Elena said softly in awe.  
  
Reno shrugged and turned to his comrades. "Champron said that there's a bar called Turtle's Paradise that's cheap. He'll have someone there to give us a quick run-down on the lay-out of the building. Leave that up to me. You three go and enjoy yourselves. Meet outside at eleven-thirty. It's nine now. Let's go." Needless to say, Reno took the leader role over and handled it nicely.  
  
As the four stepped into the bar, the were met with the welcoming smell of cigarettes, beer, and cheap perfume. A beautiful piano and singer duet floated through the air. "Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping.. Hello, I'm still here. All that's left of yesterday..." Applause rang out and the Masked Woman smiled, her mouth the only thing visible.  
  
The piano started up again and she seemed to become part of the song. "I'm so tired of being here. Suppressed by all my childish fears. And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave. 'Cause your prescence still lingers here. And it won't leave me alone. These wounds won't seem to hel. This pain is just to real. There's just too much that time cannot erase. When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears. When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears. I held your hand through all of these year. But you still have all of me."  
  
Vincent found a corner table and sat down to watch and listen to this entrancing singer. Elena and Rude sat across from him, tearing his attention away from the beauty on stage. The blonde sat on her boyfriend's lap, laughing at the look on Vincent's face.  
  
"You look like you know that woman from somewhere and are deeply, madly in love with her," she said with a grin.  
  
"Whatever," Vincent joked back. "You're just mad because Reno made you two leave him the hell alone." By the time he looked back up to the stage, she was taking a drink, finished with the song that had him entranced.  
  
A guitar started up and she grinned wickedly as she sang another song, only it was faster.  
  
Vincent, Rude, and Elena spent their time chatting about how much Wutia has changed, but both men seemed entranced by the singer on stage when Elena wasn't paying attention.  
  
When the crowd was shouting for an encore, the woman smiled and coughed into her handkerchief, then nodded. "What song?" Many shouts of various songs filled the bar and she laughed a beautiful laugh like chiming bells. "Okay.. Bar Keep's Choice!" The balding man flushed. "What say ye, oh mighty barkeep?"  
  
_ -- "What say ye, oh fearless leader of blonde porcupine heritage?"  
  
Cloud glared at the teen, who merely grinned in response. --_  
  
"I don't know," he said bashfully. "How about... Taking Over Me?"  
  
There were shouts of approval and the woman smiled again. The piano started up, then was joined by guitars and drums. "You don't remember me, but I remember you. I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you. But who can decide what they dream? And dream I do. I believe in you. I'll give up everything just to find you."  
  
"We've gotta go, Vince," Rude whispered, nudging him.  
  
As the tall, vampiric man walked out, he didn't notice the woman on stage, still singing, but watching him. The light glinted off his metal claw, and she knew instantly. 'Vincent!'  
  
**_-----!-----  
-----!-----  
_**  
_-- The dark man stared up at the diamond speckled night sky. "I am a monster..." he told himself softly.  
  
"I'm afraid of monsters," her voice came from behind him. Without turning, he knew that it was Yuffie, who was temporarily staying at Cid's house. "But I'm not afraid of you... Guess that means you're not a monster, eh, Vampy?" He could hear the arrogant smirk in her voice, though didn't see it on her face when he turned around to face her. She looked at him with her grey eyes that seemed like storm clouds, ready to burst with rain and lightning, her face was blank, as if unsure what to expect from the man.  
  
He smirked. "Come on," his tenor voice said softly. "It's late and you are probably hungry."  
  
"You buyin'?" she asked quickly. He nodded. "Fine, let's get to that restaraunt before it closes!" --  
_  
"There should be one guard and there's a window left open." Reno yawned. "So, how're we gonna do him in?"  
  
Vincent looked at Reno with a blank expression. "Silencer on my gun, one shot through the head." They all turned and watched a limo drive past, then continued their unofficial meeting. "It's easy and only messy on the bed."  
  
Elena and Rude both nodded their agreement. The spit fire also nodded. "Kay, Vince. It's your night, then."  
  
_-- "I wanna go too!"  
  
Cloud shook his head at the ninja princess. "If you got injured, Godo would have me hunted down. You can stay up here on the Highwind with Cid's crew."  
  
She looked down and to her left. As the others prepared for battle and Cloud gave them a pep up speech, she walked across the deck and picked the taller man up by the neck of his shirt. "Listen, Sunny Day. I don't care if you think this is just for glory, but I don't. I'm going to help save my people as well as everyone else, because there is no reason to let them die. There is no reason to live if I can't help."  
  
Vincent watched the scene with invisible pleasure. He had been waiting for the ninja to suddenly erupt since day one with AVALANCHE. Tifa bit her lip in worry whereas most everyone else laughed. "Let her come, Cloud," Tifa said after the ninja had thrown him into the side of the Highwind.  
  
"Fine, then. She can come. But, I mean it. If she's injured, I can't take her by myself." --  
_  
Vincent hopped into the room last. Reno looked at his three comrades and nodded. Six silenced shots took out the guards that weren't supposed to be there. Vincent opened the door and slipped in, Reno, Rude, and Elena staying back.  
  
The room had a dresser and a four poster bed with red and white sheets and blankets. As he crept around to the side of the bed, he saw intense grey eyes looking up at him. "Sleepel," he heard her whisper. Three thuds indicated the fall of his comrades.  
  
Jumping back and taking aim, he glared at the woman with lower back length chocolate hair. "Who the fuck are you?" he asked in a dangerously low whisper.  
  
"Your target, apparentally. Sheesh. And I'm told that I'M daft!" A throwing star cut the man's human hand, causing him to drop the gun that he held. She stepped forward to get a better look at him, stepping into a pool of moonlight. Vincent's eyes widened.  
  
_­-- A beautiful woman with long chocolate and sun-streaked hair and intense grey eyes smiled up at him from the picture. "Yuffie.. Wow, you're absolutely gorgeous," he said to himself. He frowned at the rest of the picture. Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Marlene, Cid, Shera, Red XIII, and Reeve all smiled out at him. Yuffie, being the shortest, was sitting cross-legged wearing denim shorts and a green tank top, grinning up at him with no true emotions in her stormy grey eyes. --  
_  
Sure, she was a year or so older, but she looked pretty much the same. "Yuffie?"  
  
She smiled half-heartedly. "It is you. And I was hoping that it wasn't..." She sighed a ragged sigh and took her fighting stance. "I guess you're not going to just give up, are you?"  
  
"Still the same, huh?" he asked with a chuckle. "Never will I truly give up."  
  
"Figures..." She threw a small shuriken at him, which he dodged. Still wounded, Vincent was unable to use his own weapon. He lunged at her. With a last second side-step, Yuffie allowed the man to run himself into the pole of her bed and brought her hand in a chop style onto the back of his neck. He slumped to the floor and she gazed at him hurtfully. "I truly never expected you to come and try to kill me... Tifa or Barret, maybe... But not you." She coughed into a blood stained handkerchief.  
  
_-- Yuffie smiled up at Vincent, a bouquette of roses that she had just received from her date in her hands still. "He was afraid to come in, because Cid said that you'd kill him. I don't think you could hurt a fly while in human form, though." With that, she skipped down the hall to her room. Vincent stared blankly after her, thinking that she was truly as crazy as Barret had implied. --_  
  
_**YK2: Whew, now that that's over!  
  
Surka: It's over!? --Throws a party--  
  
YK2: I meant the chapter, Surka. Not the story.  
  
All: Awww! There's MORE!?  
  
YK2: Yup! If I get reviews, that is! Thanks to: foureyes, Ezri-Candy, Neko-Yuff16, Hotaru170, and Kagato.Masaki for my first five reviews!  
  
Dracon: For a good story, read Always Smiling by Ezri-Candy. It's a very well-written story.  
  
YK2: Even if Ezri does like evil cliffies!  
  
Sky: Yay Yuffentines!  
  
Toni: I like Yuffroths, myself.  
  
PK, YK2, & Hacker: Huh?  
  
Toni: Yuffie/Sephiroth fics.  
  
Paine: Did not realize they had a formal name.  
  
Toni: Why not?  
  
Sephiroth: Why... HER?  
  
Yuffie: Hey! What's wrong with me!?  
  
Vincent: -- to YK2 -- You might want to keep her away from me, she is rather frightening at times...  
  
Sky: VINNIE! -- huggles Vincent --  
  
Vincent: Oh, unmerciful Gods and Goddesses!  
  
YK2: Well, I'll let you get on with your lives, now! Till Next Time! AUDI!!!  
  
-The gang of TMIWD**_


	3. I'm Not Who You Remember

_**Tell Me I Was Dreaming**_  
  
_ By: Yuffie Kisaragi2  
  
I only own my own characters, I think you can tell which ones they are._  
  
_Nope, this is not based off of the song... This is an eight chapter short story that I will try to update every week or so. Don't hold me to that, though! Read onward!  
_  
**_Chapter Three: I'm not who you remember...  
_**  
_-- "My only Wutia silk dress and you've ruined it!" Vincent watched the ninja storm back down the hallway to her room.  
  
"Why were you wearing it to begin with!?" Cid shot after her.  
  
"For my date!" came her muffled response.  
  
Cid and Vincent exchanged glances before the pilot started laughing hysterically. "Her.. A date!?"  
  
Knock knock knock. The two men looked at each other, then Cid walked over and opened the door. A young man in jeans, a button up shirt with a black cowboy hat and black bowboy boots stood there. "Is Miss Yuffie here?"  
  
Yuffie walked out wearing jeans and a white tank top. "Hey, Rocky! Well, bye, guys!" With that, the 18-year-old walked out the door.  
  
Cid and Vincent stared dumbfoundedly at the closed door for a few minutes, then Cid turned back to Vincent. "They're not going out on a date, are they?" Vincent nodded. "God dammit! I'm gonna rip that fuckin' boy apart if he lays so much as one finger on her!" --  
_  
Garnet eyes flickered open slowly and stared at the ceiling of his cell. "Finally awake?" a male voice asked from his right. He sat up and looked over to see Reno. "Don't bother standing yet. We've got nowhere to go." He pointed across from him.  
  
Vincent looked to his left and saw bars. "Damn... Yuffie's ruler, not Gorki."  
  
"Finally got that through your head, huh?" asked a voice from beyond the bars. Yuffie stood there in shorts and a red tank top. Vincent stood quickly, as did Reno. She coughed into a handkerchief, wiping what looked to be blood from her lips afterward. "So, make a deal with you. You tell me who hired you, I let you loose, free of all charges, and with complete protection while you are in Wutia." Reno looked appalled as she coughed crimson liquid into her handkerchief again. "Don't worry," she said somewhat hoarsely. "My condition is of one host only. It's not contagious."  
  
That seemed to relieve Reno, but made Vincent even more curious than before. "What's wrong?" he asked her seemingly out of the blue.  
  
"It is of my own business and not a concern of yours," she replied firmly, using words that he once used against her. "So, ya takin' my offer, or what?" She was trying to sound as street smart as she used to be, but Vincent could see through the barrier.  
  
Reno held up a finger. "Where's the other two? Elena and Rude? Where are they?"  
  
Yuffie wrinkled her nose. "They're still out. I really didn't think that my Sleepel spell was that strong still.. It's been so long since I've used my materia..." Her intense grey eyes stayed on Vincent even as she spoke to Reno.  
  
Reno nodded. "Champron. He hired us."  
  
She smiled. "Thanks." With a signal, the guard standing nearby opened the cell for the two men. She whispered something in Wutian to the guard and smiled at Vincent and Reno, then walked out of the room.  
  
_-- "I'm scared..."  
  
"Scared of what?"  
  
A fragile smile crossed her face. "The monsters... That lurk in one's heart..."  
  
His heart leapt into his throat. He knew that she was sick and mostly asleep, but she seemed to be telling something only to him. "What monsters?" he asked ever-so-softly.  
  
She wrapped her arms tighter around her legs. "You can't tell anyone, Kurt. I mean it! And you can't laugh!" Vincent winced as though she had dealt him a physical blow. By the time he looked up again, she was asleep.  
  
"I promise never to tell," he murmured into his cape, laying her down on her cot. "And I would never laugh at you, m'lady." --  
_  
She looked in the mirror. She'd lost more weight and was too pale. "Shake," she called out half-heartedly. He came in. "How do I look? I need the truth."  
  
The tall man that had retrieved her from the bar three nights before looked at her, then at the tiled floor. "Pale and thin, Miss Yuffie."  
  
She nodded, not allowing the tears to fall. "Alright. Call the doctor, we'll visit with him during his next available appointment." The young man nodded and started out. "Shake?" He turned back toward her. "Thank you... For helping out."  
  
Twenty minutes later, she was sitting on the exam room table looking as dignified as ever. The rather good-looking male doctor shook his head. "You have lost ten pounds in the past week and a half, Miss Yuffie. I'm afraid that things are not looking good." She nodded, knowing what he was going to say.  
  
"I'm not giving up singing, Dr. Hushman. You can nag all you want, but until I pass out once on stage, I refuse to stop singing at Turtle's Paradise."  
  
He shook his head. "Fine, but you must promise me that if you ever pass out on stage, that you'll quit."  
  
She merely nodded and looked at Shake, who understood what she wanted. He handed her the scarlet and gold jacket that matched her gypsie skirt and white blouse. "Excuse us, doctor. I have a show to attend in twenty minutes."  
  
He gaped at her. "You've been vomiting blood and still refuse to take a break?"  
  
She smiled. "I rule over Wutia... Singing is my break, Dr. Hushman. It's the simplest things that bring one joy. To hear my voice bring that joy is more than enough break for me. Perhaps you should come hear me sometime."  
  
At that, she and Shake left the blonde doctor, who still look utterly befuddled at why she made herself hurt worse just to sing.  
  
**_-----!-----  
-----!-----_**  
  
Vincent watched the Masked Woman sing again that night, knowing full well who it was. For three nights, he stayed in the palace as a guest and watched the Lady of Wutia sing as if she was a common person out on the streets at night. She finally noticed him on the fourth night. As people were yelling for enchore, she nodded. "What song?" Of course, she got various answers, so she had to pick someone to pick a song.  
  
With a smile, she pointed a perfectly manicured finger at Vincent. "You. What's your name?"  
  
He smiled back. "Vincent Valentine." This got the expected gasps of awe. He, after all, did help save the planet from Meteor and Sephiroth.  
  
"Well, Mr. Valentine. What song do you choose?"  
  
"My Last Breath..." He saw her gasp slightly and everyone else looked at the two awkwardly.  
  
"O-Okay... My Last Breath... it is, then..."  
  
_-- "Encore! Encore!"  
  
Tifa blushed a brilliant shade of scarlet. "I'm not that good, guys!"  
  
Yuffie laughed. "Aw, c'mon, Teef! You're better than me! Just one more!"  
  
Cloud nudged Yuffie, a grin on his face. "How 'bout you sing, Yuffs?" She looked horrified. "You may as well, everyone has.. Well, except Vincent, that is."  
  
Cid snorted. "I've heard that brat singin' in the shower! She can't sing!"  
  
Tifa shot him a dirty look and smiled helpfully at Yuffie. "Come on, just one."  
  
With some hesitation, Yuffie agreed. Vincent, who had turned his back to the party, turned so that he could hear the ninja better, curious about her singing abilities. She hummed to herself for a minute, then nodded resolutely. Tifa sat down at Yuffie took her place in the middle of the semi-circle.  
  
In a voice that seemed to mature for the 17-year-old, the ninja started singing with her eyes closed to block out the images of her friends sitting there. "Hold on to me, love. You know I can't stay long. All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid. Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your arms?  
  
"Holding my last breath, safe inside myself! Are all my thoughts of you? Sweet raptured light, it ends here tonight." Everyone stared at her in disbelief. "I'll miss the winter. A world of fragile things. Look for me in the white forest, hiding in a hallow tree... come find me...  
  
"I know you hear me... I can taste it in your tears! Holding my last breath, safe inside myself! Are all my thoughts of you? Sweet raptured light, it ends here tonight.  
  
"Closing your eyes to disappear," she had her eyes closed still. "You pray your dreams will leave you here. But still you wake and know the truth. No one's there! Say goodnight. Don't be afraid. Call-ing me, call-ing me as you fa-ade to black." Her smokey grey eyes opened to see everyone gaping at her.  
  
Everyone remained silent as her last note slowly faded into the woods surrounding them. "What was that song?" Tifa gasped out in awe.  
  
Yuffie shrugged. "I don't know.. I made it up as I went. Uhm.. How about.. My Last Breath?" --  
_  
"Call-ing me, call-ing me as you fa-ade to black..."  
  
As the last note echoed around the room, an applause, so loud that it shook the tiny bar, broke out. Grey eyes flickered over to the man as she nearly panted for breath. He smiled and walked out the back door. She got her belongings and a bottle of water and followed her friend out.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked her, leaning against the wall.  
  
She frowned slightly and shrugged. "Maybe I wasn't sure about the new you."  
  
He laughed. "True... I'm not the person you knew before. I thought you, of all people, would like me better now."  
  
The Lady of Wutia drank a foul tasting blue liquid and washed it down with a gulp of water. "I've always liked you as a friend, Vincent. I don't want someone to change so that people will like them better..." She stared at the ground, shivvering occasionally from the bitter November winds.  
  
She noticed a shadow come over her and felt strong arms wrap around her to keep her warm. "Tell me," he said softly. "Why are you so secretive?"  
  
"I can't let myself get assassinated on stage, now can I?"  
  
He looked down at her, though she was still staring at the ground. "You're sick... What illness? And don't say a common cold, because I'll have to hold you upside down like Barret used to."  
  
Yuffie giggled a little at the memory. "That's not very funny, Vincent!" She sighed. "... I have Mako poisoning. They think it might be where we were all down in the Northern Crater. Since I was so young, they think that it may have affected me greater than anyone else. It poisoned me." The once-so-scary man looked down at her in disbelief. "And I... I'm dying from it. That's why I was taking charge the other night. If I'm going to die, I would rather die in battle. At least it's quicker and less painful than dying from some damn disease."  
  
"Yuffie," he gasped. She clutched his shirt and buried her face in his chest. Within a matter of moments, he could feel the warm wets spots on his shirt where she had started crying. He wrapped his arms tighter around her as if he could ward off the dreadful disease by holding her tightly. "I'm here," he said softly. "We'll find a cure."  
  
**_YK2: YAY! Another chappie finished and uploaded!  
  
Surka: That's a good thing?  
  
Paine Kisaragi (PK): It is if you're an authoress that people like.  
  
Hacker the Thief: Awww.. .C'mon, PK! People like you! It's just your first fic! -- Gets glared at -- Not what ya wanted to hear, huh?  
  
Toni: Allow her to smother herself in self-pity, if that is what she wishes to do.  
  
YK2: Nope! Can't let friends do that to themselves! Cuz...  
  
Hacker & YK2: Friends are friend forever if the Lord's the Lord of theeeeeem! And a friend could not say never, if the friendship should not eeeend! Though it's hard to let you go, in-  
  
Surka: MAKE THE INSANITY STOP!!!  
  
Dracon: Please... I think I need another beer...  
  
Sky: Come join me, guysh!  
  
YK2: Uhh... No thanks, Sky. Gotta stay sober for the a/ns! Anywho!  
  
Vincent: ...You forgot your replies to the reviews...  
  
YK2: Oh, yeah! Thanks, Vince! Knew I was losin' my mind somewhere!  
  
The Pebble - I UPDATED! Glad you liked! Hopefully, you're a very happy person, because I updated ASAP!  
  
Iflytev.Bluedestiny - Hope I got your name right! Thankies for your review!  
  
Ezri-Candy - Who DOESN'T like your stories? Any of them!? -- evil grin -- Evil cliffies are much fun! To write, that is! Not to read! Hope this chappie cleared up why they were tryin' to kill her! They're mercenaries.. And happened to be makin' a lot of money from Champron, who hired them to kill the leader of Wutai, who they thought was Gorki, but was really Yuffie! I like Yuffie/Sephy pairings too! I just don't know if I could write one.. I might try sometime! No citrus, though.. I suck at lemons!  
  
Hotaru170 - Glad ya think so! weeeee! I love having people like my stories! Makes me feel important, even though I'm not!  
  
foureyes  - My basis (and I mean the basics of what little I know about the disease) was Turburculoses. I hope that it wasn't too expected!  
  
Neko-Yuff16 - Hope you enjoyed this chappie!_**

**_ YK2: And, of course, I thank Evanescence for singing and introducing me to that song! I LOVE Amy Lee's voice! I WANNA SING LIKE HER!!!_**

**_ Reno: That was certainly a lot of rambling nonesense.  
  
YK2: RENO!!!  
  
Dracon: RENO!!!  
  
Surka: Heh.. I'm goin' to AN3's fic to chill out with muh hubby! -- Disappears --  
  
YK2: Oh! If you like "Sucked into the FF7 World" fics, check out A. Nonymous III esq.'s "Alternate Earth" and "Alternate Earth: Season Two"! Surka's in there! She's Sephy's Guardian and... er.. yeah.. If ya wanna check it out, I think she's allowin' people to still send in resumes!   
  
Sky: I'm in there!  
  
PK: And I also submitted a character. Though she's not added yet. Her name is Jennifer, Jenn for short.  
  
YK2: Welp, Till Next Time!  
  
All except YK2: AUDI!!!  
  
YK2: Hey! That's MY word, DAMMIT!  
  
-The gang of TMIWD_**


	4. Then, Who Are You?

**_Tell Me I Was Dreaming  
_**  
_By: Yuffie Kisaragi2_  
  
_I only own my own characters, I think you can tell which ones they are.  
  
Nope, this is not based off of the song... This is an eight chapter short story that I will try to update every week or so. Don't hold me to that, though! Read onward!  
_  
**_Chapter Four: Then, Who Are You?  
_**  
_ -- "Please, don't leave me here alone..."  
  
He looked back over his shoulder at the shivvering ninja. "You are more than capable of taking care of yourself. Go back to Cid's or do whatever you wish... I have things that I must do on my own."  
  
The vampiric man walked away, the sounds of her sobs following him as he disappeared into the night. "You'll come back," he heard her say. "And the monsters in your heart will consume you!" --  
_  
He sat up quickly and looked around only to find himself in her bed for the fourth morning in a row. Looking down at his claw, he was reminded of the demons that lurked within him. "I will help her," he promised himself.  
  
Beside him, she moaned and tossed to her other side. With a faint smile, he sank into the bed beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. She turned back over and snuggled closer. Without realizing it, Vincent's claw was running through her hair as his eyes studied her sleeping face. Slowly, he was learning who she was again. Maybe not the bratty ninja that he first met, but still the same old Yuffie.  
  
_-- "You don't know what it's like! You don't know what it's like to want something so bad that you could feel it! That you would kill yourself for it! I am forced to feel that way, got it? My town is supposed to mean everything to me! I am supposed to guide it's way through hard times and sooth my people's souls whenever something goes wrong!" Vincent watched her throw another pillow across the room of her hut and hit Cloud with it. The blonde man merely deflected it and stared at her coldly.  
  
"That does not tell me anything as to why you are leaving, Yuffie." He caught a green plush pillow. "You are running away from your people that need you right now."  
  
Yuffie's grey eyes glared at him with tears threatening to fall. "You don't understand," she said in a husky voice. "So fuck you." With that, she grabbed her knap sack and sprinted past the two men.  
  
Cloud turned to Vincent with wide MAKO eyes. "Did she just say-?" The taller man nodded. "Okay, I know where she's going, then. She'll be at Cid's within a week."  
  
Vincent watched Cloud leave the small hut quickly and smirked. 'She's not going anywhere,' he told himself silently, picking up her Conformer. About the time that he turned around, she burst back into the hut, red with embarrassment.  
  
"I... uh..."  
  
Vincent's smirk had fallen off his face. He extended the hand that held her Conformer. "Go to Cid's, he will take you in. Barret already has a child to deal with."  
  
Yuffie flushed crimson again, taking the Conformer. "How did you know where I was going?"  
  
The vampiric man shrugged. "A lucky guess." --  
_  
Yuffie awoke to the feeling of cold metal on her stomach. Looking down, she realized that her shirt had come up and Vincent's arms were wrapped around her waist. She smiled to herself and could hear his slow, rythmic breathing. His heart thudded softly directly behind her head and she turned to better hear it. Falling into his slower than average lub dub, she felt safe for once in her life.  
  
The ninja turned her head and grabbed her handkerchief to cough up blood into it. She felt Vincent move to accommodate her new position and wake, though she could stop coughing long enough to acknowledge him. She felt herself gagging and made a dash for the bathroom. She knelt, puking into the toilet.  
  
"Are you okay, Yuffie?"  
  
When she was finished, she slumped into a sobbing heap beside the porcelain toilet. Vincent rushed over and wrapped his arms protectively around her. She sobbed into his chest, her words barely audible between stifled sobs and through her hands and his bare chest. "I'm a f-f-freak of n-nature!"  
  
"No, you're not," he said softly to her.  
  
She coughed into her hands, blood covering them. "Y-yes I am!"  
  
Vincent hugged her tightly to him and kissed the top of her head. "You'll get through this... I know you will."  
  
**_-----!-----  
-----!-----_**  
  
"Next up is our very own Masked Woman!"  
  
She looked the part of a gypsie. Her long skirts were a deep marroon with a long purple sash and a tied off white blouse with gold hoop earrings and many jingling bracelets. She sang many of her usual songs and, when asked for an encore, she smiled good-naturedly.  
  
"Usually, I ask what song, but tonight I've got a friend that I wrote a song for. No laughing, because it's a song in progress! For a friend."  
  
She took a breath and hummed a slow, lulling tune. "La la la la... You walked into my life, not a care in the world... I can't believe that you're still here for me. When I cry, you help me through. When I scream, you fight for me. You're still here, though I never asked. Maybe this is... Baby, all I can ask you to do for me... Is stay with me for one more night... One more night of laughter is all that I need... Because you walked into my life, more depressed than anyone I've ever known... I can't believe you're still here for me. When I cry, you help me through. When I scream ,you fight for me...  
  
"Once you left me, and I thought that my world was gone... You were gone and my life just plain sucked... The most beautiful things were so dull and nothing seemed fun... You came into my life, back to me... I can't believe you came back for me. When I cry, you help me through. When I scream, you fight for me. You're still here, though I never asked. Maybe this is... Love?"  
  
Vincent smiled at her, knowing that she was looking at him through her white lace mask. 'What... Is this that I am feeling? It must be love, because it's so strong.'  
  
**_-----!-----  
-----!-----_**  
  
Vincent laughed at her attempts to reach a wrapped gift he had in his claw that he held way over his head. "Vin-nie!" she whined.  
  
He laughde even harder seeing her glaring at him. "Okay, here." He handed her the gift and she took it, looking at him with suspicious eyes.  
  
"What is it?" she asked slowly.  
  
He chuckled. "Open it."  
  
She looked up at him looking more beautful than he had ever seen her, wearing black sweat pants and a baggy tee-shirt, her long hair was down and she wore no make up. Slowly, she unwrapped the gift and opened the box. "A... song?" she asked slowly.  
  
He smiled down at her. "It was a song that my friend and I wrote long ago. We wrote it for her and her husband to sing as a duet, but she never did." He didn't seem at all upset about his friend, so Yuffie took it out and started humming the woman's part.  
  
"It's not too awfully hard," she commented. "BUT, I'll need someone to sing it with." She grinned wickedly at him and he shook his head frantically. "Aw, c'mon, Vincent! Shake can't sing and I need someone to sing with!"  
  
The tall man looked as if he'd been asked to cut off his... yeah... and watch it burn. "Wh-what!? I can't sing, Yuffie!" She pushed out her bottom lip, giving her the 'I'm-Cute-But-Pouting' look. "I'll think about it."  
  
_-- "Puh-lease, Vampy-kun?"  
  
Vincent looked down at the young ninja, his crimson orbs plainly stating that he did not want to ride any rides or play any games. "No."  
  
She pushed out her bottom lip and sniffed a few times. "Guess I'll just... Go to bed, then..."  
  
"You do that," he said emotionless.  
  
She turned and glared at him. "Jackass!" --  
_  
"I guess that'll work for now," she said with a sigh and coughed into her handkerchief. "I'm sleepy," she added with a yawn. She crawled into her bed and watched Vincent as he took off his shirt and crawled in beside her, their nightly ritual by now.  
  
_-- Vincent looked at his sleeping bag longingly, then at the sleeping ninja who was supposed to be on watch with the also sleeping Aeris. 'I'll let them sleep,' he told himself. 'And wake Red XIII and Cloud for next watch.'  
  
Half an hour later, Yuffie awoke with a jolt and looked over at Aeris, who was asleep. 'Uh-oh...' She scrambled over to wake her pink-clad comrade, but a hand on her arm startled her. "Who the-!?" She found herself looking into garnet eyes. "B'Jesus! You scared me!"  
  
He nodded. "I apologize. Wake Red XIII and Cloud in half an hour for watch change."  
  
With that, he walked over to his tent. Yuffie's gaze followed him, then fell to the ground, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. 'Who does he think he is? Mr. High-and-Mighty Vampire... Grrr.. If it wasn't for the fact that everyone else likes him, I'd kick his butt! That.. And I'm sure he'd be cute without that damn cloak!' --  
_  
Yuffie opened her eyes and looked around the dark room to see Vincent looking out the window at the moutains of Da Chao. She smiled at his silhouetted frame, then realized he was talking on the phone.  
  
"I don't care. I'm not leaving her. She's a friend in need and that was AVALANCHE's pact before we split up... I don't think that any of the others know, so I will not tell you. I don't care, Reno." There was a silence. "Fine. Good bye. Tell Rude and Elena farewell for me. If I am ever in need of a job, I may seek you three out."  
  
The Lady of Wutia watched him shut the cell phone and crush it in his claw. "Vinnie?" she asked meakly.  
  
He turned and she could see his smile through the dark. "Sorry if I woke you," he whispered to her. "Reno called... They're going back to Junon."  
  
She smiled back at him and coughed lightly, no blood this time. He crawled into the bed beside her. "G'night, Vince."  
  
"Sweet dreams, Yuffie."  
  
_ YK2: Yuppers...  
  
Surka: OH! Tell 'em 'bout the bonus chapter!  
  
Everyone: HUH!?  
  
YK2: Oh yeah! I've got an alternate ending! It's in process, but I didn't like the way I ended it originally and am making an alternate ending!  
  
Toni: Okay... That is odd.  
  
PK: Yes, well, we all knew that YK2 was odd already.  
  
YK2: HEY! I resemble that statement!  
  
Vincent: The review responses....  
  
YK2: OH YEAH! Here we go!  
_  
_**Neko-Yuff16** - I had the chapter up for, like, fifteen minutes, then got an e-mail saying that I had a review! Sheesh! Either you live on the other side of the world or you're a night time person too. Tragedy? Hmmm.... ::evil grin:: Wait and find out!  
  
**The Pebble** - Good, I was hopin' that I wasn't going too fast or too slow with all this! Thankies!  
  
**foureyes ** - I couldn't make Yuffie-san go insane! She's crazy enough! Besides, I think that going crazy could have only been a Cloud thing. We all know that he was "special"!  
  
Fire Gemron - Hey! No worries! That's how many previous reviewers now? YAY! I'm lovededed! Can't wait for your story!  
  
**Ezri-Candy** - YAY! That's 5 Vinnie plushies, 3 Sephys, 2 Cids, 2 Clouds, a Cait Sith, a decapitated Aeris (I apologize Aeris lovers, I dislike her greatly), and two Tifas! OH! And my 3 Nanakis (I love RedXIII, he's soooo cute!). No Barrets yet...  
  
**Sorceress Fujin** - OKAY! I'm updatin'! Sheesh!  
  
**Hotaru170** - It's all written and typed, but I'm too lazy to update!_

_ **Cattiebrie393** - Hope I got your name right! Obie kabie! Glad you like!  
  
YK2: WHEW! I love my reviewers! They're so nice and tell such sweet lies!  
  
Surka: Yeah, like telling her that her fic is good...  
  
Vincent: ... Are you going to update?  
  
Sky: VINNIE! -- tackles him --  
  
YK2: The deities all hate me... Till Next Time! AUDI!!!  
  
** -The gang from TMIWD**_


	5. Who Do You Think I Am?

**_Tell Me I Was Dreaming_**  
  
By: Yuffie Kisaragi2  
  
_I only own my own characters, I think you can tell which ones they are.  
  
Nope, this is not based off of the song... This is an eight chapter short story that I will try to update every week or so. Don't hold me to that, though! Read onward!  
  
**Chapter Five: Who do you think I am?**_  
  
Yuffie rolled over to her side to look at Vincent better, he laid on his back, his hand and claw beneath his head. "So, are you?"  
  
Vincent glanced at her, then continued to look at the ceiling. "I don't know, Yuffie. I'm not that great of a singer."  
  
The ninja looked at him for a minute, then straddled him, an evil grin on her face. "But you're going to do this for me," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. He raised an eyebrow and she bent her head low and kissed him. It lasted for a bit and she pulled away, breathless. "What's the verdict now?" she asked with a mischievous smile on her face.  
  
Vincent brought his hands out from under his head and sighed. "I might need more convincing," he said with a sly grin. She bent down and kissed him again. He brought his arms up and wrapped around her, then flipped her over so that he was on top of her. "I," he said in between kisses. "Will."  
  
"Miss Yuffie!" Vincent and Yuffie stopped, then laughed at the look on the other's face. It was only Shake, who knew about Vincent being in her room and never asked questions. "You have an appointment in half an hour with Reeve from Junon. Shall I cancel it for you or will you be fine with him?"  
  
She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine.Hey, how's my search for new guards coming?"  
  
Shake gave an exasperated sigh. "Not well. You only need one man to be your personal bodyguard for now and no one seems to want that job because of your tendency to...er... disappear."  
  
Yuffie smiled up and Vincent, still pinned beneath him. "Want a temporary job? Only temporary because you don't speak Wutian and I need a bodyguard that does."  
  
**_-----!------  
-----!------_**  
  
Reeve sat in front of the desk, waiting for it's owner to appear. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Yuffie opened the door, her tall bodyguard right behind her. "Hello, Reeve. I was hoping that you wouldn't be here too early so that I could grab something to eat. No matter though. Are you hungry? Thirsty?" He shook his head and she shrugged. "Okay, then."  
  
She walked to her big, comfy seat behind the desk, her bodyguard stood behind her, which is when Reeve recognized him. "Is that... Vincent!?"  
  
Yuffie grinned. "So you did recognize him. Vince, that's twenty gil, buddy!" She smiled professionally again. "Anyway, what's this about your problem with the tax on Wutia silk?"  
  
Vincent half listened to the conversation until he heard Yuffie say something about continuing the meeting for the next evening. He tuned in just in time to hear Reeve's response. "I have to be back in Junon tomorrow morning, so how about tonight?"  
  
The tall man watched Yuffie struggle not to cough and shake her head yes. Reeve smiled back and walked out. Yuffie instantly started coughing into a handkerchief. Vincent stroked her hair lightly while she coughed into the white rag. He noticed, though, that there was more blood than before. She finished her coughing fit and swallowed hard.  
  
Vincent helped her up and wrapped his arms protectively around her, allowing the Lady of Wutia to cry into his black tee-shirt that he wore with black jeans and black boots. "Come on, we'll get you something to eat."  
  
She nodded and he escorted her out of the office room.  
  
**_ -----!-----  
-----!-----_**  
  
Vincent growled at the sight of Yuffie's new bodyguard. She looked him over and asked questions, seemingly trying to find his fault. He had none. Vincent may have been a little bit jealous that he couldn't have been Yuffie's bodyguard for more than three hourse and then this guy comes barging in, but he would be fine with that. He didn't like the fact that when Yuffie turned to walk back toward him, the new bodyguard was checking out her ass.   
  
"Sorry, Vin," she said, wrinkling her nose. "He meets my criteria. His name's Rashka," she looked down at the ground at the name. "He's been a bodyguard before and had a wife that died in a fire three years ago. So, there can't be a hostage situation including a wife or whatever of his. He'll go with me for meetings, dinners, and anything else that the public probably knows about... The singing is a loner thing."  
  
Vincent nodded. "So, he'll be going with you tonight?" She nodded. "Okay. We'd better pick out something for you to wear then, eh?" Her beautiful smile came back and she looked up at him again.  
  
"Thanks, Vin," she said softly, going up on her tip toes to kiss him. Shake cleared his throat and she shot him a glare. "What?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Miss Yuffie, but you'll have to cancel singing tonight." Her eyes widened. "Your time to sing and time for your dinner date are one and the same."  
  
Vincent nodded. "I'll call. Besides, you don't have any appointments for the rest of the day, so we can find you a dress and work on that thing you got yesterday."  
  
She smiled again at him and nodded. "So, er, Rashka.. .You can go get something to eat or whatever..." She caught the look on Shake's face. "No! He's not standing outside my door. That's why I kept taking off last time."  
  
Shake sighed. "Fine. Rashka, if you would please follow me, I'll show you to your quarters."  
  
Vincent and Yuffie watched the two men leave and the ninja shut the door and locked it behind them. "So, which should we do first?"  
  
The tall man chuckled. "Find your outfit," he replied. She scowled at him and walked over to her closet. Quickly picking out a black skirt business suit with red pin stripes, she tossed it onto a chair. "Okay, I get the point. We'll work on this song..."  
  
An hour later, Vincent was watching Yuffie strum on a guitar and singing a song that he'd helped write. They worked on it for another four hours before Shake knocked on the door. "Miss Yuffie?"  
  
She stopped playing the guitar. "Yup?" She opened the door and her new bodyguard and Shake both stepped inside.  
  
"It's nearly five. Your reservations are at the Deaf Goat at five-thirty. Rashka, please wait outside for Miss Yuffie. When she's finished getting dressed, escort her outside to the limo."  
  
The Wutian man nodded and looked at Vincent with an untrusting gaze. Yuffie nearly pushed them out of her room and Vincent plopped on her bed to look over the song again. "Gawd, I look horrible."  
  
He looked up and saw the ninja in only her bra and underwear, she was extremely thin. "You need to eat more," he said softly.  
  
She bit her lip and looked at him. "It's part of the MAKO poisoning. I lose weight exceptionally fast and have no appetite." She looked down at the ground, then started dressing in the suit. It hung loosely on her small frame. "GAWD!"  
  
Vincent walked over and hugged her tightly again. "You're going to be fine," he said softly. "I know you will."  
  
Her intense grey eyes looked up at him. "I'm glad that someone still has hope," she said softly. "Because I gave up on it when I found out that it was incurable."  
  
He gazed down at her and kissed her tenderly, then walked over to her closet. He found another business suit, but it was pants instead of a skirt. She smiled at him and put it on. Sure, it was a little big on her, but not nearly as much as the other one. He gave her another kiss before she walked out the door and was joined by the tall, blonde, good-looking Rashka.  
  
_--"Can't believe that brat got a date," Cid exclaimed loudly.  
  
Vincent just watched Yuffie walk down the road with a tall, blonde boy wearing black slacks and a white button down shirt. She wore a Wutian silk dress and Stiletto heels. "That's three in three days," he commented quietly.  
  
"Fuck! Think I don't know that!? God dammit! If I needed someone to keep count on how many fuckers she brings home, I'll ask for one!" He took a drink of his tea. "Shit-heads had better not touch her."  
  
Vincent shook his head. "... And she was afraid that you would not take her in. You sound more like her father than Lord Godo did." --  
_  
Vincent sat on the floor, his back against the wall, reading a book entitled "MAKO Poisoning Cures." He truly did have hope for his friend still. As he read, he heard the door open and looked up to see Shake. "Yes?"  
  
The young man took a deep breath before saying anything. "I... I want to thank you, Mr. Valentine." Vincent raised an eyebrow. "With you being around, Miss Yuffie seems to be getting better... Even though no one else has noticed it, I have. She's got color back in her face and is singing without too many breaks to cough. She is talking to anyone that she sees... It's all because you made her happy again."  
  
Vincent looked up at Shake from his place on the floor. "O-Okay... Uh, you're welcome? I don't think that it was my doing..." He cast a glance at the bed. "She's not getting any better, really. She's been getting up in the middle of the night to go get sick and has not had very much sleep."  
  
Shake nodded. "I suspected as much, but you are making her however long of life she has left happy and I thank you for that." He bowed, then walked out of the room. Vincent sighed and pulled the two tickets out of his pocket.  
  
'I hope you still like vampire movies,' he told himself silently.  
  
_-- "I got tickets for an old Dracula movie and was going to go see it with Chase. Bu-ut since he got really sick today, I'm going to have to go alone," she told the two older men solemnly. "And what really suck is that I have four tickets!"  
  
Cid glared at her. "I'll go. I like vampire movies."  
  
She grinned. "Really? Cool! I LOVE vampire movies! They're the greatest!" She looked at Vincent and Shera. "You two want to come?" Shera smiled and accepted gratefully, but Vincent just looked at Yuffie blankly. "Aw, c'mon, Vincent!"  
  
Reluctantly, he accepted the invitation. Later that night, they sat in a nearly empty theater in Junon watching a black and white movie with vampires in it. Yuffie was watching intently, but Cid and Shera were bored out of their minds. Vincent was watching it, but not nearly as enthusiastic about it as Yuffie. --  
_  
Vincent heard the door open and slid the book under the bed, his crimson gaze looking up to meet her small frame. "Gawd, that was the most boring dinner that I have EVER had!"  
  
She walked toward her closet and got jeans and a tee-shirt that had the word "Twisted" scrawled on it in red lettering. Vincent sneaked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "So, let's remedy that. I've got two tickets for some cheesy vampire horror movie and need a date."  
  
Her eyes widened and she turned her head left to look at him. "Really?" He nodded. "Awesome!" Her eyes were tired. "But I want to sleep for half an hour first."  
  
He smiled and nodded and she changed. Curling up next to him under the big comforter, she was soon asleep. 'I'll just let her sleep,' he told himelf. 'We'll go to the movies some other time...'  
  
­_-- "I wanna love you until the world cumbles... Until the oceans are gone..." Vincent smiled to himself upon hearing the teen singing to herself in her room. "Maybe this is love... Maybe I'm just insane... Maybe the world is gone and I'm floating in space, but I know that I'm not here with you, listening to you say it's over..."  
  
The vampiric man hummed along with her, knowing the song from somewhere but not sure where. 'I told you it's over,' he sang mentally. 'Though you never listened to me anyway. I know that it's over, because you only scream at me. Listening to your screams, makes me wonder why this ever was. And now I know that I'm not the only one... Maybe this was love... Maybe I'm just insane... Maybe the world is gone and I'm floating in space, but I know that I'm not here with you, listening to your screams...' --  
_  
_Surka: That was chappie number five!  
  
Dracon: She does not own any songs except for the song in the last chapter and the song that Vincent sang mentally and Yuffie sang in the shower in the chapter, which are random songs that she made up for the occasion. And The Deaf Goat WAS a restaraunt, I think that it's closed now...  
  
Toni: Speaking of which, where are Hacker, YK2, and PK?  
  
Sephiroth: I believe that they're out celebrating stupidity.  
  
Surka: SEPHY! -- pounces Sephy --  
  
Sephiroth: Uhm... Hello...  
  
Sky: VINNIE! -- pounces Vinnie --  
  
Vincent: Unmerciful deities...  
  
Toni: Yeaaaahh... And I'm the evil one, devoid of all emotions...  
  
Reno: How YOU doin'? --Wraps his arm around Toni's waist --  
  
Toni: Okay, this isn't TOO bad! --wink--  
  
Dracon: --quirks an eyebrow-- OH! So I'm left alone whilst you three go have fun?  
  
Seifer: Hey, there.  
  
Dracon: Eh heh... Review responses! YK2!!!  
  
YK2: --appears-- Well, then! Just take the bishies! --Rude appears-- HEY! That works!  
  
PK: --with Squall-- Hmmm... If being single is this good, then I might not have a steady boyfriend for awhile.  
  
Hacker: --With some random warrior from her insane D&D world-- THIS IS AWESOME!!!  
  
YK2: --One arm around Rude's middle-- If any of you are bored (As Ezri-Candy must have been) I've got a very depressing and moody three-chapter story called Eternal Hell. It's about Vincent Valentine and is told in his poit of view, most of the time, that is. Only slight Yuffentine, but enoguh to make you go "awwww!" I've only got 2 reviews on it! And I desperately want someone else to read it!  
  
Vincent: ...Are you going to respond to your reviewers?  
  
YK2: OH YEAH!!!  
  
**Neko-Yuff16** - Hey! Rock on, night people! I'm an Ohioan, myself (Not by choice, believe me!). You'll hafta wait and see! A tragedy fic is usually a good one, but reeeeeally sucks because everyone's like "NOOO! THAT CAN'T HAPPPPPEEEEENNN!!!"  
  
**Ezri-Candy** - YAY! A MARSHMALLOW BARRET!!! Hee hee hee! Now I've got the WHOLE collection! Thankies for readin' my other fic! I'm sorry it made you cry, but I wrote it on a depressed day!  
  
**Hotaru170** - Yay-ness! I love reviewers! BUT YOU GOTTA UPDATE YER FICCIES TOO! Talk about mega super-duper scgrowlness goin on!  
  
**The Pebble** - I'm glad that the flash backs aren't confusing. I'm so happy that people like this fic! Thankies!  
  
YK2: M'Kay! Thankies to ya'll! Remember, there are only three more chapters. Four if you all decide that you want the alternate ending! We'll do that "poll" at the end of the story! So, if you don't like the last chapter, tell me in a review and I'll post the alternate ending!  
  
Rude: ... You talk too much. Till Next Time.  
  
Reno: AUDI!!!  
  
-The gang from TMIWD_


	6. You are You How Else Can I Describe You?

_**Tell Me I Was Dreaming**  
  
By: Yuffie Kisaragi2  
  
I only own my own characters, I think you can tell which ones they are.  
  
Nope, this is not based off of the song... This is an eight chapter short story that I will try to update every week or so. Don't hold me to that, though! Read onward! I apologize for my work is not wonderful, but you read at your own cost anyway._  
  
**_Chapter 6: You are... You... How else can I describe you?_**  
  
Yuffie awoke with a feeling of being late for something. She heard Vincent's rythmic breathing and the beating of his heart and instantly knew. She elbowed him awake. "You jerk! We missed the movie because of you!"  
  
Vincent laughed, his laugh was beautiful and mysterious at the same time. Yuffie knew then that she had fallen for him. "I'm sorry, Yuffs. I must've fallen asleep."  
  
She rolled over and glared at him. "Not funny at all, Vinnie!"  
  
He laughed again. "Do that face again! You looked exactly like you did when you were seventeen!" She glared at him. "What? It's the truth!"  
  
"Miss Yuffie? You have a doctor's appointment in forty-five minutes."  
  
"Thanks, Shake." She looked at Vincent. "Wanna stay here or come with me?"  
  
Vincent gave her a "Duh" look. "Of course I'm coming with you!" She bit her lip and jumped up to grab some clothes other than the jeans and tee-shirt that she fell asleep in.  
  
**_ -----!-----  
-----!-----_**  
  
Yuffie walked into the room that the pretty blonde nurse had indicated wearing hip-hugger jeans and a baggy tee-shirt to hide all of her lost weight. "I hate doctor's offices," she heard Vincent say from behind her. She smiled sympathetically at him and sat on the exam room table.  
  
They waited in awkward silence for awhile, then Dr. Hushman walked in. "Hello, Lady Yuffie."  
  
"'Ello again, Dr. Hushman. Didn't see ya at Turtle's Paradise yet!"  
  
He chuckled. "Well, you know me.. Can't ever have fun. How have you been feeling?"  
  
"Well enough, I guess."  
  
Dr. Hushman nodded. "Still singing?"  
  
"Took a break yesterday because I had a dinner meeting."  
  
He continued writing on a clip board. "Have you been vomitting still?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Coughing up blood?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"More or less than usual?"  
  
She looked thoughtful, then shrugged. "About the same, I'd guess." She looked over at Vincent, who remained staring at the floor.  
  
"So, you have lost ten pounds since two weeks ago, when I last saw you, Lady Yuffie." She swallowed, waiting for more bad news. "Other than that, you seem to be maintaining a pretty regular schedule." He looked over at Vincent. "And you are her new bodyguard?"  
  
Yuffie laughed. "Only for about half a day! He's my friend. Dr. Hushman, this is Vincent Valentine."  
  
The doctor raised a blonde eyebrow, then extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Valentine." Vincent shook his extended hand, but said nothing. "Well, I'm going to up your medications a little to help you gain weight and put you on a new one. Perhaps you will pull through this, Miss Kisaragi."  
  
Yuffie smiled and saw Vincent shift uneasily. "Dr. Hushman?" Both Yuffie and the doctor looked at the tall man, sitting in a corner. "I read about a Dr. Rayynz in Mideel that has cured 'incurable' cases of MAKO poisoning other than Cloud Strife's... Would you mind if I took Yuffie there just to visit him once?"  
  
Dr. Hushman smiled. "Of course I wouldn't mind. It is his specialty, after all." He looked at Yuffie. "It seems that your friend is not as determined to give up as you are, Miss Kisaragi. I would actually suggest seeing him. Take a week off from everything here. Shake can, I'm sure, take care of things here."  
  
Yuffie smiled weakly at the doctor and Vicnent. "Sure..."  
  
_ -- "We'll take a week off from chasing Sephiroth and hang out in Costa del Sol," Cloud announced to his comrades. Yuffie wrinkled her nose and he sighed. "What's wrong, Yuffie?"  
  
"If we're taking a break, then me and Teef'll need gil."  
  
Cloud looked confused. "You and Tifa will need gil? Why?"  
  
Yuffie and Tifa looked at each other rolled their eyes. "Okay, oh fearless leader, think about it. Me and Tifa have no other clothes except for the clothes on our backs. We'll need swim suits to go swimming and I don't feel like washing this outfit over and over all week. It sucks."  
  
Tifa giggled and Cloud nodded thoughtfully. "How much gil?"  
  
The girls exchanged looks and evil grins. "About 600," the answered in unison.  
  
"What!?"  
  
They looked completely innocent. "Wellll," Tifa started. "We'll need swim suits, new boots, sandels, new out fits-"  
  
"Fine!" the blonde porcupine exclaimed loudly. "Fine.. 600 it is."  
  
The two girls grinned and hugged him quickly before grabbing the gil and running away from the Highwind into town to go shopping. --  
_  
Yuffie looked at Vincent, who sat next to her in the limo. "Why are you so determined to help me get better? It's not as if you're in love with me."  
  
The man looked taken aback. "On the contrary. I fell for you the first time I heard you sing."  
  
The Lady of Wutia stared at him in disbelief. "Tell me that you're joking," she said softly, then coughed blood into a handkerchief. 'No, I can't be in love.. I'm dying. There's no way to keep me alive.. .I'm DYING, dammit!'  
  
"I know that you've given up hope," he said softly. "But I'm not giving up hope. And I'm not joking. I love you, Yuffie Kisaragi. I may not have realized it when we were together with AVALANCHE, but I realize it now. And no matter what you say, I'm not changing my mind about it."  
  
The ninja looked at him, her grey eyes full of pain and love, but so... upset. "You have to be joking, Vincent... I'm **_DYING_**, dammit! I wanted a friend, not to... to... fall in love!" She buried her face in her hands. "And now I'm confused!"  
  
Vincent looked down at his hand and claw. "I know exactly how you feel..."  
  
They sat in silence before arriving at the bar where Yuffie sang almost every night. With a look at him, she knew that she had hurt him. "Vincent... I'm sorry. I'm just so tired of hearing Dr. Hushman's false hope and telling me to do this or to do that to help myself get better."  
  
The man looked up at her. "Why do you give up hope so easily? The doctor in Mideel has cured eighteen 'incurable' cases."  
  
"And he's always looking for more glory. I tried that once, though Dr. Hushman doesn't know. If you don't believe me, ask Shake. Right after I was diagnosed, we went to Mideel for two weeks. They were the most agonizing two weeks in my life! He bleeds people still!" She shook her head. "I'm really sorry for what I said earlier, Vinnie, but I'm not going back."  
  
The man nodded, now understanding why she seemed so afraid to go there. Bleeding people was illegal in most cities. "I didn't know, Yuffie."  
  
"Of course you didn't know!" she laughed good-naturedly. "If you had, then you wouldn't have recomended it! Come on ,we've got a duet tonight." She winked. "Besides, I heard that the Masked Woman was going to reveal herself to see the looks on peoples faces!" Before Vincent could say anything, she had grabbed her purse and mask and was gone. He hurried to find her.  
  
_ -- Vincent rushed through the forest, knowing that he should not have been so mean to the ninja. "Yuffie!" he called, but she did not answer. 'I'm such a jackass, she was right.'  
  
He stumbled over something that yelped and looked down to see Yuffie nursing a quickly bruising thigh. "Ow, you big meanie! Just kick me, why doncha!"  
  
"Yuffie! I... I apologize for what I said earlier." She glared at him with her grey orbs.   
  
"You're sorry?" He nodded. "Well, you must be human then. Only humans admit that they're sorry. I doubt that part-demons even show any emotion." She stood slowly, giggling at the look on his face. "Listen, I'm gonna go back to chill out at Cid's... You wanna come and watch a cheesy old vampire flic with me?"  
  
He stared at her in disbelief. "You... You are not angry with me for what I said?" She rolled her eyes and he nodded once. "I will go with you."--  
_  
"So, as my encore tonight, I'm going to sing a duet with a pal of mine. That, and I'm going to take off my mask." The were hoots of approval. Slowly, she took the green lace mask away from her face and there were many gasps, then the loudest applause that the tiny bar had ever heard. Passers by were tempted to look inside, and many did to see Yuffie Kisaragi, Lady of Wutia, standing on stage with a tall, dark, and handsome man.  
  
_**Vincent:** I wanted you to know  
  
That I love the way you laugh  
  
I wanna hold you high   
  
And steal your pain away  
  
I keep your photograph  
  
I know it serves me well  
  
I wanna hold you high  
  
And steal your pain  
  
**Both:** 'Cause I'm broken  
  
When I'm lonesome  
  
And I don't feel right  
  
When you're gone away...  
  
**Vincent:** You've gone away  
  
You don't feel me here  
  
Anymore...  
  
**Yuffie:** The worst is over now  
  
And we can breathe again  
  
I wanna hold you high  
  
You steal my pain away  
  
There's so much left to learn  
  
And no one left to fight  
  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain  
  
**Both:** 'Cause I'm broken  
  
When I'm open  
  
I don't feel like I am strong enough  
  
'Cause I'm broken  
  
When I'm lonesome  
  
And I don't feel right  
  
When you're gone away...  
_  
Anyone watching saw instant chemistry, causing many of the men to feel their dates cuddling closer. Yuffie flashed a gorgeous smile at her fans, her people, the ones that had faith and hope still. She coughed into a hand kerchief and felt Vincent's worried gaze on her. She shook her head to shrug him off, but felt dizzy.  
  
Vincent caught her as she fell forward. "Someone call an ambulance!" came a shrill shout from the crowd.  
  
_YK2: Originally, I was going to take the story off completely. Then, I went back and looked at my reviews... I wanna thank those of you who still like this fic.. I know that there are people who don't and I'm lettin' 'em get to me, but I needed a break...  
  
Paine Kisaragi: Megg (YK2) is really thankful for those of you who kept sending in those wonderful reviews.  
  
YK2: It was PK that made me update! I swear it was! So, thank you all SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much! I really love ya'll in that authoress/reader kinda way!  
  
Thanks to all my reviewers!  
  
**Cattiebrie393** - Obie Kabie is a version of Okay.. My field commander used to say it all the time and it rubbed off!  
  
**Sorceress Fujin**  
  
**The Scarlet Stalker** - Thanks... I think... Kinda sorta, maybe?  
  
_ Special Thanks to:  
  
_**Ezri-Candy  
**  
**Hotaru170**  
  
__**Neko-Yuff16  
**  
YK2: You three are awesome! You read my other fic and were still willing to read this one. I love you guys! Welp, Till Next Time! AUDI!!!  
  
**-The gang from TMIWD**_


	7. GODS! Make The Pain Stop!

**_Tell Me I Was Dreaming_**  
  
_By: Yuffie Kisaragi2_   
  
I_ only own my own characters, I think you can tell which ones they are.  
  
Nope, this is not based off of the song... This is an eight chapter short story that I will try to update every week or so. Don't hold me to that, though! Read onward! Remember that you read at your own risk, so no complaints about 'This story sucks soooo bad!' Because it's your own stupidity that made you read on.  
_  
**_Dedicated to Paine Kisaragi, who kept me from taking this story off. Deplora, for more inspiration and all-around cheering me up. And Ezri-Candy, for more inspiration and all-around cheering me up. Thankies, guys!_**  
  
**_Chapter Seven: GODS! Make The Pain Stop!_**

Yuffie looked up into red eyes.  
  
_ -- "I'm sorry for being a brat, Vinnie! That's how I am though! That's my personality! Just like how you have no personality!" --_  
  
"Tell me that I'm dreaming," she heard him whisper softly.  
  
"I can't tell a lie, Vincent... I'm dying..."  
  
_-- "You, a respectable ninja from Wutia, the daughter and only heir to the throne, cannot possibly be a brat all of the time." His garnet orbs seemed to be looking through her body and into her very being. "No matter how horrible you may think that you are, you truly are not." --  
  
_ Vincent put his face in his hands, then looked back up at the sick Lady of Wutia. "Please, don't give up just yet."  
  
Yuffie nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. "You... Don't know what it's like, Vincent..."  
  
_ -- "You don't know what it's like! You don't know what it's like to want something so bad that you could feel it! That you would kill yourself for it!" --_  
  
"I do..."  
  
The ninja closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them to look at him. "I'm so... So sorry. I didn't want any of my friends involved in this." She shook her head and swallowed hard. "But I guess that no matter how hard you try to avoid them, friends just seem to find you." Vincent knew this feeling, he had been trying to avoid anyone from AVALANCHE by joining the Turks.  
  
The man watched in silence as the Lady of Wutia coughed into a tissue and made a face at it. She tossed it in the trash can, then laid back into the pillows. They were in near silence, only the noise from other rooms filling their ears.  
  
_-- "Hey! Wa-ait! Vin-nie!" --_  
  
_-- "Where ya goin', Vampy-kun?" --  
_  
Vincent stood slowly, hoping that she was asleep by this time. "Don't leave me alone," he heard her whimper. Looking at her slumbering form, he wondered if she would see Aeris and Kurt in the Life Stream, a place where he could only wish to be.  
  
"I'm still here," he heard himself reply softly. "I'll always be here for you."  
  
She shifted, then fell back into a light sleep. "I love you," she said in her hazy, light sleep.  
  
The tall man in all black stared at her figure, then smiled and sat down in his chair beside her bed. "I love you too," he replied. "I have since I saw you jump away from my coffin."  
  
_-- He sat up and looked around at the crew standing before him. A blonde man with hair that stood up in gravity deyfing spikes, a large man with a gun grafted in his right arm, and a skinny girl that jumped away from him, her grey eyes mistrusting. "Eww!" he heard her screech. "Gross!" --  
_  
­_-- Aeris smiled over the fire at the vampiric man. "I wonder," she said thoughtfully, trying to get his attention. It didn't work how she had hoped. Vincent did not even look up at her.  
  
"Yuffie! Give me back my hair gel!"  
  
"Gah! I didn't steal your hair gel!" The scrawny teen scrambled out of her tent, closely pursued by the flat-haired fearless leader. Vincent looked up, slightly amused by the scene. Aeris cleared her throat and he resumed his brooding.  
  
The pink-clad Ancient grinned. "Oh, I was right!" Vincent seemed unfazed by her outburst, but she continued anyway. "Cait! Come here!"  
  
The cat and mog hopped over and she whispered a few things to the cat. He nodded and started working on something. A piece of paper emerged from the fortune-telling mog and the Ancient took it and read quickly. "Oh, boy," was the cat's only response.  
  
Aeris took the piece of paper over to Vincent and handed it to him. Looking up at her, he took the paper. "Your love is who you least suspect. Caring and opinionated, but quite the nuisance." He looked up at Aeris again. "What is this?"  
  
She grinned. "The one you'll fall in love with!" With that, she skipped back over to the cat to get a second piece of paper. After the cat and Cetra laughed about something, Aeris took it over to Yuffie, who guffawed and threw the paper in the fire.  
  
"Dark, brooding, and all around hot!? That's too stupid, even for you, cat!" Without a second glance, she walked away, tossing a bottle of gel into the air and catching it one-handedly over and over. --  
_  
The doctor that Vincent recognized as Dr. Hushman walked in with a short, squat doctor with iron-colored hair and penetrating blue eyes. "Is she asleep?" Dr. Hushman asked quietly.  
  
Standing and walking closer, Vincent nodded. "She's only been asleep for a few minutes."  
  
The blonde doctor shook his head. "This is Vincent Valentine," the young physician told his comrade. "Mr. Valentine, this is Dr. Rayynz, the physician from Mideel that you were asking about earlier."  
  
Standing up a little straighter, Vincent nodded to the doctor. "Miss Kisaragi does not want to see him," he said firmly.  
  
Dr. Rayynz smiled knowingly. "Yes, she saw me a little over a year ago for treatment, but decided that she would come back to Wutia for her people."  
  
Hushman seemed taken aback. "She did?"  
  
Vincent knew exactly what was coming and walked back over to sit in his seat beside the ninja's bed. The two doctors talked in loud whispers until they caught the red eyes glaring at them. Hastily, they left the dimly lit, quiet room. Vincent placed his hand over the Lady of Wutia's, amazed at how quickly MAKO poisoning decided to take over her small body.  
  
Yuffie stirred and muttered something to Kurt, then settled back into her light sleep again. Vincent's heart ached that, in her time of need, she called out to a dead boy that she had once loved. He was suddenly reminded of himself...  
  
_-- "Why the hell do you love her? She's living like a.. a.. a wraith! Under that damn waterfall, Vincent! It's not worth mourning over!" --  
_  
The words she had spoken while they were staying in Kalm, right before they took off for the Northern Crater to fight Sephiroth, came back to him. "Why do you love him still?" he asked her sleeping form. "Is it because you remember him suffering? Or do you blame yourself?"  
  
_ -- "I'm afraid of monsters, but I'm not afraid of you... Guess that means you're not a monster, eh, Vampy?" --   
_  
**_-----!-----  
-----!-----_**  
  
Vincent opened his crimson eyes to see Yuffie crying. "Yuffie?" he asked, sitting up from his slumped position that he had slept in. She did not respond. He reached across her bed and touched her shoulder, but still, she did not respond.  
  
Her grey, unseeing eyes looked past him, almost as if she was reliving something horrible. "I'm so sorry, Kurt," she whimpered. "I didn't see it!" She flinched as if she was getting yelled at, then cried out as if she had been struck by something heavy. "It w-w-wasn't m-my fault," she stammered.  
  
"Yuffie!" Vincent was fully awake and had his hands on her shoulders, shaking her lightly to wake her. Slowly, her stormy orbs focused on his face.  
  
"Vinnie?" she whimpered pitifully. He nodded and wrapped his arms around her, she did the same, her head on his chest. "Gawd, I h-hate these stupid dreams," she whispered to him. "They always come back when I'm sick."  
  
"Tell me what they are, so maybe they won't come back again," he suggested helpfully.  
  
She laid back against the pillows and looked up at him. "Okay... But they're still gonna come back. I guess that I'm just reliving old memories..."  
  
_-- Fifteen-year-old Yuffie jumped down from a tree that she'd fallen asleep in and walked toward the small clearing. "Kurt?"  
  
"Over here," a tall, light-haired young man called back. She sprinted toward the fire and saw his grin. "Did you rob that chocobo carriage?"  
  
Yuffie groaned. "There was a chocobo carriage?" She ran her hand through her short raven locks.  
  
"What do you mean 'There was a chocobo carriage?' Didn't you fucking see it!?"  
  
She jumped back about six inches. "I'm so sorry, Kurt," she said softly. "I didn't see it!"  
  
"How the hell couldn't you fucking see it!? It was all decked out! What the hell did you go do!? Fuck some random guy that came across your damn path!?" He noticed her flinching at the volume of his voice and struck her hard across the face with his hand.  
  
After a cry of pain and surprise, she let the tears fall down her cheeks slowly. "It w-w-wasn't m-my fault!"  
  
"It wasn't your damn fault!? Where the hell were you!?"  
  
She was gasping for breath, bleeding from the mouth, but nothing hurt worse than his words. "I fell asleep," she whispered softly. Kurt laughed a cold, unfeeling laugh and pulled his fist back as if to punch her. This time, however, she was quicker. One of her poisoned throwing stars caught him of-guard by grazing his cheek. "Don't make me hurt you," she sobbed, tears blocking her vision.  
  
Kurt wailed on her, beating her about the head, leaving bruises and cuts. When she got to the brink of unconsciousness, her hand shot up and he stumbled backwards. Looking down at his stomach, both saw blood gushing from the wound, a bloody dagger in the young ninja's hand.  
  
"I'm so... So sorry, Kurt. I told you that I didn't want you to come with me... Please, understand..." --  
_  
Vincent wiped the tears from the woman's face as she sobbed. "It wasn't your fault, Yuffie. You do know that, don't you?"  
  
Her face was ashen and her breathing was shallow, but she nodded. "I've always known that." Her voice was hoarse and Vincent knew that she was fading fast.  
  
"Don't give up, Lady Yuffie Kisaragi," he warned her, feeling the tears threatening to fall from his own garnet eyes. "Don't you dare give up!"  
  
She smiled weakly at him. "And how, pray tell, am I supposed to keep myself from giving up." She doubled over on her side, facing away from Vincent. "Make the pain stop!" she wailed. "Gods, just make it all STOP!"  
  
A nurse and Dr. Hushman entered quickly. "What happened?"  
  
Vincent's eyes were wide and he shook his head, not knowing how to answer. Yuffie's shrieks of pain filled the room and he knew that she was giving up, no matter how much he wanted her to stay alive. She was fading faster by the second, only pain was keeping her with him...  
  
'Tell me that I'm dreaming,' he begged. 'Tell me that I'm really asleep in my coffin again, waiting for AVALANCHE to come find me. Don't tell me that she's going to leave me here alone. I can't live without her...'  
  
_Surka: Wow, sad chapter...  
  
YK2: Okay, I know that I just updated, but I HAD to update again, thanks to the two reviews I've read so far.  
  
Paine Kisaragi: Deplora, Ezri, I think you've reached her 'Give 'Em A Hug' List... Beware!  
  
Surka: I'm gonna end up huggin' ya'll for bringin' her outta that slump! Oh, what the hell! --Hugs Deplora and Ezri-Candy--  
  
**Deplora**: Wow! Between you and Ezri-Candy, I've been officially cheered up! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Yuffie's my fave video game character too! (Hence the name!) And Yuffentines are the greatest, well, for FF7 anyways. But about Vinnie bein' left all alone.. Hmm...  
  
**Ezri-Candy**: You know, I don't think I've ever been so abruptly yanked out of depression until you and Deplora's reviews! THANKIES! I like writing cliffies, they're so much fun! I am not going to remove those two reviews, merely because to each his/her own and they're entitled to their own opinions, no matter how hurtful they may seem. I had to laugh at your last comment... --giggles-- I'm still laughing about your last comment! And having you, Sorceress Fujin and Deplora review is like a dream come true, because I love their stories! Yours too! Hell, any GOOD review is a dream come true in my world!  
  
Surka: She's a sad, sad fifteen-year-old...  
  
YK2: Yeah, well... A sad, sad fifteen-and-a-half-year-old who's gonna be gettin' her temp as soon as she passes that damn written test! I think I may have needed to up the rating during this chappie... Oh well! Welp, thankies sooooooooooooooo much! Till Next Time! AUDI!!!!  
  
**-The gang from TMIWD** _


	8. Don't Tell Me You Didn't Say Goodbye

**_Tell Me I Was Dreaming_**  
  
_By: Yuffie Kisaragi2  
  
I only own my own characters, I think you can tell which ones they are.  
  
Nope, this is not based off of the song... This is an eight chapter short story that I will try to update every week or so. Don't hold me to that, though! Read onward!  
  
**Chapter Eight: Don't Tell Me You Didn't Say Goodbye  
**_  
Crimson eyes flickered open slowly and he rolled out of the inn bed. He wiped the sleep from his eyes, amazed at how soundly he had slept the night before. Glancing out of the window, he could see the oil pastel colors of a Wutai sunrise. It took him a moment to remember why he had a black suit on his chair. 'Yuffie...'  
  
_-- "I wanted you to know that I love the way you laugh. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away" --_  
  
He solemnly dressed in the suit and heard a knock on his door. Silently, he prayed that it was Reno, coming to get him for a mission in Wutai that he would refuse completely. He only wanted to stay far from Wutai, but wasn't he already there?  
  
His crimson eyes sank to the floor. 'Yuffie...' He heard the door open and looked up to see Reeve in a black suit similar to the one Vincent wore.  
  
"Tifa made me come to get you," he said honestly. "She was worried that you wouldn't come." The once stoic and unfeeling man nodded.  
  
"I'm comin', I just needed to think for a minute." He sighed, then followed the controller of the robotic Cait Sith out of the room and downstairs, where the rest of AVALANCHE was waiting.  
  
Tifa had not put any make-up on, so that it would not smear when she started crying again. She wore a long, black dress and her hair was merely put into a pony tail. Cloud stood next to her, his chocobo-colored spikes contrasting greatly against the black suit that he, and every other male in the room, wore. Barret leaned against the wall across the room, his daughter, Marlene, wearing a sad expression and a dark green shorter dress. Cid and Shera were next to them, Shera holding her infant daughter, Lacey, in her arms. Both were also clad in black, Lacey in a pale pink sun dress. Nanaki lay beside Tifa, his tail swishing in pure aggrivation that a friend had been ill and he had not been contacted, nor had his healers.  
  
Vincent remained calm, though he was screaming on the inside. He was the first person to break the quiet trance and leave the inn. Slowly, they each started to follow. He led the way to his love's palace and met Shake on the elevator. They bowed respectively and Vincent could tell that the younger man had been crying recently. "Thank you for coming," the coco-haired young man said softly. "It would definitely mean a lot to her."  
  
Vincent smiled half-heartedly. "I had to come. You know why, Lord Shake." The other man blushed. "Excuse me," he said as he stepped off to go to the room where the visitation would take place.  
  
_-- "I keep your photograph, I know it serves me well. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain." --  
_  
Tifa felt the warm, salty tears fall down her cheeks and buried her face into Cloud's chest. He murmured to her, but felt the same way. Vincent sat in a chair, her long raven hair cascading over his shouldres and long bangs covering his face. He could not bring himself to do or say anything to those people that Yuffie had considered friends, but had not been there for so long. Why Yuffie had requested them there was still a mystery to both Shake and Vincent.  
  
Shake had found the note before Vincent and they had read it. There were places where things had been added as after thoughts, places where things had been scratched out, and complete blank spot that she had left in case she thought of anything else. She had invited AVALANCHE, Shake, and Dr. Hushman to her funeral before it had happened. Vincent's name had been circled, though neither man knew why. Shake's name had also been circled, but they reasoned that it was because he was to become the Lord of Wutai.  
  
After a short ceremony, Yuffie Kisaragi's casket was taken to the Kisaragi tomb to be buried with her mother, father, and brother. Vincent, Cloud, Barret, Cid, Shake, and, much to Shake's dismay, Tifa carried the casket.  
  
_-- "'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome, and I don't feel right when you're gone away... You've gone away. You don't feel me here anymore..." --_  
  
Vincent watched as the blood red roses seemed to wilt in his hands. It wasn't worth putting them on her casket, so he chucked them into a ditch while no one was paying attetion. His heart ached terribly as the casket was placed in the tomb, then the tomb shut and sealed... Forever. He would not be allowed to be buried with her. He could not place flowers on her grave when he felt sick and lonely. He could not even think of anything except her storm carressed grey eyes that always shone with hope and happiness during their AVALANCHE days, but seemed so full of love and pain the past month.  
  
'Tell me I was dreaming...'  
  
_-- "Hey! Wa-ait! Vin-nie!" --_  
  
He could still hear her voice.  
  
_--"Your target, apparently. Sheesh. And I'm told that I'M daft!" --_  
  
For minute, he thought about returning to that coffin in the ShinRa Mansion... Maybe someone could find his bones there some day... The bones of a monster? Or the bones of a human, though?  
  
_-- "I'm afraid of monsters, but I'm not afriad of you... Guess that means you're not a monster, eh, Vampy?" --_  
  
"I won't go back to that coffin... She would not want that. She proved to me that I am not a monster. That I can love."  
  
_-- "I love you."  
  
"I love you too." --_  
  
He did not realize how zoned he was until he felt the soft mattress beneath him as he fell onto the inn bed. "I miss her already."  
  
_ -- "The worst is over now and we can breathe again. I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away. There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain." --  
_  
A knock startled him from his nap that he had not realized he was taking. Pulling his hair back hastily and trying to look halfway decent, he opened the inn door and found himself neck to face with a greying man in a matching iron-colored suit. "Hello, are you Mr. Vincent Valentine?"  
  
Looking warily at the man, Vincent nodded. "Yes, what do you need?"  
  
The man smiled half-heartedly. "I am Jack Trade, a lawyer born and raised here in Wutai. The late Ms. Yuffie wished for me to bring this to you if she was to... Well..." He extended a suit case. "This is yours, now." Vincent took it and Jack Trade left quickly.  
  
Sitting on the bed, Vincent placed the suitcase before him. He lifted the lid slowly and saw a stuffed chocobo that he knew as 'Chibi Choco' on top of some papers. At the bottom, he found a tape and tape player. He popped the tape into it and heard his own voice singing the song that he brought her. Yuffie's voice joined in, then she sang a solo, and he joined in for the chorus. Tears stung his eyes and he heard the song end.  
  
"Hey, Vinnie. I hope that this didn't make you, like, cry or anything!" Her voice was only slightly distorted through the tape player. "I guess that I'm dead if you're listening to this. I wanted you to hear how awesome we sounded and never wanted our song to be forgotten. I love you, Vampy-kun, and I have since we first met! The new you is so much easier to carry on a conversation with, but I loved you all the time, not just recently." She cleared her throat and he could tell that she was probably crying. "Right now, you're on your way out the door to go find Shake. You need food, I think. I'm not hungry, but I'll eat for you.  
  
"I wanted you to know that I love you and I'm not afraid," she said softly. "I know that it's from my song, but it's the truth... Hold on to me, love. You know I can't stay long, all I wanted to tell you was I love you and I'm not afraid. Please, Vincent, don't forget me. That's my biggest fear, knowing that my friends forgot me. I love you, Vampy-kun! Bye!"  
  
Vincent could not bring himself to press stop. He heard something on the tape and realized that it was her still, she was sobbing.  
  
_--'Cause I'm broken when I'm open. I don't feel like I am strong enough. 'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome and I don't feel right when you're gone away." --_  
  
Crimson orbs read through the papers. Many were songs or notes that she had written to him during the time they were together. He found the song that she had received from him and a note that he had given her one morning that she had not been feeling good. The last paper that he found was an envelope with his and Shake's names printed on it in hasty hand writing.  
  
He opened it, curious as to what it said.  
  
_ Shake and Vincent,  
  
I know that you two are my closest friends, so I must write this to you. My bank account has a lot of gil. It goes to the two of you. Please, split it up and get on with your lives. Shake, get married and have lots of kids! You've always loved midgets! Have some of your own!  
  
Vinnie... As much as this hurts me, please find another. I know that you're probably glaring at this poor, innocent piece of paper right now, but it will make me feel better. If you can't find another, I'm always here for you. If you DO find another, I guess that I can settle for second best, but only in your eyes! I don't want you to think of me as the woman who hurt you. I know that Lucrecia hurt you, but I think that she only used you. Don't turn your head away, please, just read.  
  
Lucrecia KNEW that she would have to marry Hojo. She KNEW that her child would be used for the Jenova experiments. She KNEW that it would hurt you... So, don't be so upset over her. I would never, EVER, hurt you, Vincent! I love you too much and it probably hurts to be away from you. I meant everything that I said in my song that I dedicated to you. You fight away my fears, Vincent Valentine. And I love you for it.  
  
Please, guys, don't greive too much. I love you both (Shake as my kid brother that can be utterly annoying and Vinnie... I think that's a given!) and don't want to look up from the Life Stream to see you two, in twenty years, still moping. I'll resurrect myself and come rattle chains in your closets!  
  
Love,  
  
Yuffie Kisaragi_  
  
Vincent smiled at the paper and folded it, vowing to let Shake read it sooner or later. He continued looking through the papers again. "'Cause I'm broken, when I'm open. I don't feel like I'm strong enough. 'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome and I don't feel right when you're gone away... You've gone away... You don't feel me here... Anymore..."  
  
**_ -Fin-_**  
  
_YK2: --sobs-- Can't believe I actually wrote her death! I'm so sorry, guuuuuuuuyyyyyyyys!  
  
Surka: BUT! There's an alternate ending!  
  
YK2: Oh, YEAAAAAAHHH! BUT! Does Yuffie die or live in the alternate ending!?  
  
Dracon: That would be everyone's question... review, please.  
  
YK2: Till Next Time! AUDI!!!  
  
-The gang from TMIWD_


	9. Don't Give Up! Not Yet! Alternate Ending

_**Tell Me I Was Dreaming**  
  
By: Yuffie Kisaragi2  
  
I only own my own characters, I think you can tell which ones they are.  
  
Nope, this is not based off of the song... This is an eight chapter short story that I will try to update every week or so. Don't hold me to that, though! Read onward! Here's the alternate ending that everyone's been waiting for! Keep in mind that this is chapter eight!  
  
**Chapter 8: Don't Give Up! Not Yet! (Alternate Ending)**_  
  
Yuffie's screams slowly faded as the world became black to both people. Vincent could not see, nor could he hear or feel or use any of his other senses. All was silent until one word woke him. "Daddy."  
  
His eyes opened slowly and he saw a little girl sitting to his right on the bed . "Hmm?"  
  
A beautiful laugh like bells chiming came from the doorway. He sat up and looked around the room. It was painted an off-white with multi-colored splatter paintings. On the ceiling were four sets up hand prints. The largest was in the crimson paint with the left hand deformed, the smaller in forest green, the child sized was done in yellow, and the baby sized was done in a brilliant blue and was slightly smudged. Pictures were on the dresser of a Christmas wedding done in red and green, the bride's dress was white with red and green trimmings.  
  
"Are you done gazing at the same old things so that you can get up yet?"  
  
His eyes travelled from the picture to the woman in the doorway. "Yuffie?"  
  
A bemused look crossed the long-haired woman's face. "What, Vince?"  
  
He stared at her, the woman that he had seen so many times and in so many different outfits. She had never looked so beautiful. Her long hair was up in a sloppy pony tail and she wore paint-stained jeans and an over-sized tee-shirt with a cartoon character on it, her tummy was swollen, heavy with twins. "You look gorgeous."  
  
She rolled her stormy eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, Jake's getting upset that Daddy's not awake yet."  
  
Vincent watched the little girl run out of the room and the door shut. "Daddy, hurry up!" she called through the door. Slowly, he rolled out of bed and got dressed in faded blue jeans and a muscle shirt. Looking at the pictures, everything fell into place.  
  
_-- "Yuffie," the ever-silent vampiric man said softly to the ninja, who had been staying in Cid's home for a year and a half. "Will you marry me?"  
  
The young woman nearly choked on her sandwich. "Wh-what!?" Vincent stared at the ground. "Why do you even have to ask? We've been dating too long without anyone knowing anyway." She winked and kissed him on the cheek. --_  
  
"Her favorite color and my favorite color," he muttered to himself, looking at their wedding picture on their dresser. Another picture had a dark-haired girl and boy. 'Six and two,' he told himself mentally. 'Kristen's six and Jacob's two. Yuffie and I have been married for nine years, making her twenty-nine and I'm... too old... I'm 40, best to anyone else's knowledge.' He glanced in the mirror. 'I even look thirty-five!' He shook his head. When had he actually started showing his age? Was being married having that much of an effect on him? 'Yuffie and I are expecting twins in the summer and it's May... They're due in late June.'  
  
His face was lit up with his sheer happiness. 'That's right. Last night, I took her out to eat and she wore my cape to cover up her stomach, embarrassed that she's pregnant. It matched the feathers she wore in her headband and her dress. She looked beautiful, but not nearly as good as today!'  
  
He found the family picture and smiled. It had all been a dream... Yuffie wasn't really dying, she was married to him. And they lived in the ShinRa Mansion that he had bought immediately after the Meteor Incident with the money that AVALANCHE had split up amongst themselves.  
  
"Vinnie!" he heard his distressed wife shout.  
  
He smiled and walked out of his room, only to be met with a running two-year-old. He picked up the child and laughed. "Hey, Jake."  
  
"Daddy!"  
  
Yuffie walked down the hallway, Kristi at her heels, looking disheveled, her hair was in disarray and going every which way. "Good. You take them while I get a shower." As she walked past him to their bedroom, Vincent caught her and kissed her passionately.  
  
"Ewww," both kids said at the same time.  
  
Yuffie laughed her beautiful laugh and walked into their bedroom to get clothes. Vincent carried the two children downstairs, where Cloud stood at the bottom of the steps. "When did you get here?" Vincent asked, smiling at his old friend and comrade.  
  
Cloud grinned back. "A few minutes ago. I heard you and Yuffs upstairs, so I was going to wait." He flashed a smile at Kristi. "I saw Cid and Shera the other day, Lacey's doing good. She only a year older than Kristi isn't she?"  
  
Kristen scowled. "She plays with dolls. I think they're stupid!" Both men laughed.  
  
Jake tugged his father's long hair and Vincent laughed, setting his son down. "Daddy, ou'side!"  
  
Kristen jumped up and down. "C'mon, daddy! Let's go outside! You too, Uncle Cloud!"  
  
The two men followed the children out the back door, talking about random things such as cars and how the rest of the gang was doing. About how well Shake and Gorki were handling everything in Wutai. About the simplest things in life bringing them the most joy, including Tifa and Yuffie's rabid and, according to the two men, evil cravings at midnight. Tifa was expecting triplets the same week as Yuffie. Both men were busy with getting chocolate and other foods that their wives craved, so Cloud would join Vincent in a brief complaining session each day. Tifa had morning sickness, something that Vincent thanked the deities that Yuffie didn't get.  
  
"Then, she wanted watermelon!" the blonde said with an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Yuffie was craving buritoes at midnight the night before last. She made me go get the stuff to make them, then could not stand the smell"  
  
**_-FIN!-_**  
  
_YK2: Okay, I know that I've updated twice in one day, but I just couldn't bring myself to kill her in this ending! This is for all of you that didn't want Yuffie to die! The other one's for people that were like 'JUST LET HER DIE, DAMMIT!' --glares at a certain flame--  
  
Dracon: She originally wrote this one first, but decided to make the ending more dramatic, so she wrote the other one.  
  
PK: I liked the other one better, but I'm one for tragedies.  
  
Hacker: I liked this one better! YAY! It was only a dream!  
  
Vincent: ... Why Yuffie?  
  
Yuffie: Aww.. Y'know that ya lo-ove me, Vinnie!  
  
Reno: I'll say whatever you want me to say for a strip tease! -- Gets whacked by Toni -- OW!  
  
Toni: Not into subtlties, are you?  
  
Reno: Nope!  
  
YK2: Yeaaaah.... Anyways.. Thanks, everyone, for readin'. I really appreciate your support! Even if I did have a down moment... BUT I'M BACK! Out of boredom, I've started writing a Squffie for Kingdom Hearts... I've got all ten chapters written and lovin' every minute of writing it. I'm not sure if I'll post it, but there's always the possibility, so if you like Squffies, then watch for my next story! Squall and Yuffie or Vinnie and Yuffie? GAH! Squffies, Yuffentines, and RikkuXGippal are my currect faves! Rikku just belongs with Gippal! --sigh--  
  
Yuffie: I think she likes thieves!  
  
Tidus: Or hyper-active kleptomaniacs! --gets hit by Rikku-- OW!  
  
Rikku: --sticks her tongue out at him--  
  
Yuffie: Tell me that I'm more covered than THAT!  
  
YK2: Eh heh... PLEASE REVIEW! And, I'm begging you, no flames... Even if they do have correct grammar and constructive criticism... Just let my ficfic rest in peace! To my oh-so lovely reviwers that are probably mad at me for making Yuffie die in the first ending: I'M SORRY! I LOVE YOU GUYS, PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME! Besides, I made Vinnie nice still... I am really thankful to have GOOD reviewers --glares at two flames-- So, thank you all sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! I LOVE YOU! Watch for the Squffie, those of you KH lovers! OH! Gots a gift for all of you! --Hands Deplora a shirtless Leon doll-- That's for you.. Aaaaaannnnddd... --Hands everyone else a shirtless Vinnie doll-- TA-DA! I heard from Ezri that Squallie-boy's yours, Deplora, so I thought you migh tlike that!  
  
Surka: Damn, this is the longest a/n ever!  
  
YK2: Not quite... ANYwho! Till Next Time! AUDI!!!  
  
-Yuffie Kisaragi2, Surka Sokyu, & Dracon Fira  
  
-The Gang of TMIWD_


End file.
